3:12 Therefore, because of you, 6 Zion will be plowed up like 7 a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
and the Temple Mount 8 will become a hill overgrown with brush! 9
1 tn Heb “I will cut off Israel from upon the surface of the land.”
2 tn Heb “and the temple which I consecrated for my name I will send away from before my face.”
3 tn Heb “will become a proverb and a taunt,” that is, a proverbial example of destruction and an object of reproach.
4 tn Heb “and this house will be high [or elevated].” The statement makes little sense in this context, which predicts the desolation that judgment will bring. Some treat the clause as concessive, “Even though this temple is lofty [now].” Others, following the lead of several ancient versions, emend the text to, “this temple will become a heap of ruins.”
5 tn Heb “hiss,” or perhaps “whistle.” This refers to a derisive sound one would make when taunting an object of ridicule.
6 tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.
7 tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).
8 tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).
9 tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”